Jeweler Don Goodman is donating proceeds from the sale of this Gulf Shores Hook Bracelet, as well as proceeds from sales of the similar Orange Beach Hook Bracelet (not pictured), to Gulf Coast clean-up efforts. The bracelets retail for $150.

Jeweler Don Goodman went for a walk on the beautiful white sand beaches of Gulf Shores, Ala., Wednesday night and came home with his feet coated in an oily film.

Sadly, this will likely be a common experience this summer at beach destinations all along Gulf Shores, as the seemingly un-pluggable oil leak continues to spew thousands of gallons of oil a day into the Gulf of Mexico. The disaster will keep tourists from visiting the normally bustling southeast resort town, and Goodman, owner of Diamond Jewelers, doesn’t blame them.

“People don’t want to come here and see oil on the beach,” he said.

While the sentiment of those would-be tourists is understandable, it is no less devastating for beach communities like those in Gulf Shores, where the economic engines have always been revved by the once alluring waters. The spill’s impact on the regional economy is as far-reaching as the actual spill–stretching from fisherman to charter boat operators to restaurant owners and, eventually, to the local jewelers who are seeing their customer counts dwindle.

“When the locals don’t have the tourist business…they can’t spend any money with me,” Goodman said. “It’s just affected the entire economy of the area.”

Oil has been gushing into the Gulf since April 20, when the Deepwater Horizon, a drilling rig working on a well for oil company BP, exploded, killing 11 workers. On Friday, The New York Times reported that new estimates place the daily amount of oil leaking into Gulf at 25,000 to 30,000 barrels a day, up from the previous leak estimate of 12,000 to 19,000 barrels a day.

This unparalleled environmental disaster occurred just as jewelers nationwide were getting back on their feet following the economic crisis that caused jewelry purchases to grind nearly to a halt.

“In the first part of the year, things had definitely picked up,” said Elizabeth Campbell, co-owner of McCaskill and Co. in Destin, Fla. “We were really looking forward to our strong season, which is summer for us.”

The same is true for The Gold Shop, a jewelry store and repair shop located in the Edgewater Mall in Biloxi, Miss., said jeweler John Musto. The Edgewater Mall is located exactly where the name suggests: on the edge of the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

“It was slow to begin with and we noticed it start to pick up,” Musto said of the store’s business. “Right after the spill, [tourists] started leaving. We were starting to see a really good comeback, then after the spill it’s like a ghost town again.”

Campbell observes a similar situation in Destin, where she’s heard estimates that vacation rental occupancy is down 30 percent or more. Even though Destin’s beaches are fine right now, visitors seem to have a psychological block against dipping their toes in the waters of the Gulf, she said.

It’s not just the tourists she’ll miss, either. It’s also the store’s local clients, who have seen fewer patrons in their restaurants or who cannot get their vacation rental properties leased out because of the lack of visitors.

“We are a resort town and are heavily dependent on the tourists. Even though that tourist may not come in here [to buy jewelry], it trickles down to everyone. There will be probably an even greater indirect impact,” she said.

In preparation for the anticipated drop-off in business, Campbell and her husband, Bill Campbell, bought conservatively at the recent Couture show in Las Vegas.

Another strategy: not bringing up the spill to customers who come into the store.

“People come in here for an escape,” she said. “They’re coming in here to be in a positive place. That’s what we try to maintain.”

At Diamond Jewelers in Gulf Shores, Goodman has been forced to cut back on his employees’ hours.

“We’re not having the traffic in the store,” he said. “That’s one of the few things we can do that will help us out.”

But Goodman is not stopping at just helping himself and his store. Goodman is donating all profits from the sale of his Orange Beach and Gulf Shore sterling silver and 14-karat gold “destination bracelets” to Gulf Coast clean-up efforts.

The bracelets retail for $150 a piece and are for sale at Goodman’s store and can also be ordered by calling the store or sending an e-mail directly to diajeweler1@centurytel.net. The bracelets can be viewed on the Diamond Jewelers’ Facebook page and, eventually, will appear on the Diamond Jewelers’ Web site, which is under construction.

For businesses like Diamond Jewelers, anything that can speed up the cleanup is welcome.

“We need the funds down here,” Goodman said. “We really do.”

Source: National Jeweler Network